A City for Everyone

INDIGENOUS PAST

St. John’s doesn’t adequately recognize its Indigenous past. Getting that right is an important part of serving the many Indigenous people who are part of our present and future.

This land was used by Indigenous people long before Europeans arrived. That’s an important part of our story. I believe St. John’s City Council meetings should begin with a land acknowledgement.

As the place where Shanawdithit died and was buried, St. John’s seems to be the resting place for the Beothuk people. The current plaque in Bannerman Park is not a sufficient acknowledgement of that.

Finally, the City should not have a holiday commemorating John Cabot’s landing called Discovery Day. Cabot was not the first person here. The holiday should be renamed, and I would be open to suggestions about what it should be called.